My Word of the Year for 2025 (and some honesty about something I struggle with!)

Last week, I mentioned my words for the year in my 4 favorite books post and my goals post. Guess what you thought it was?

This name came to me in November, but it shocked me and I was honestly hoping for another name to appear instead. But no, that word kept coming back to me.

I put it together and asked Jesse to join me. I told him that it sounded like the name I should choose, but also that it sounded scary to me.

Has that ever happened? Where you know in your heart you have to say yes to something or try something or go out and get on with something or commit to something… but that feels a little (or a lot!) scary. Like, you know you’re going to need to make changes that aren’t easy but are going to be really good?

That’s me with my word of the year this year. The more I lived with it, the more I understood that it was the right name, even though I knew that getting it out would require some changes… but these will be really good changes.

What is the name? In… disconnected.

Yes, you can laugh that someone who makes a living on the Internet and the full names of running an Internet business prefers the word “unplugged”. Like I said, it will be easier for me to live. But, I truly believe it will have an impact in a way that could completely change my life!

What Will Termination Mean?

First, the inspiration for the name came from reading both Unplugged Hours: Cultivating a Life of Presence in a Digitally Connected and Reconnected World: How 7 Screen-Free Weeks with Amish Monks and Farmers Helped Me Recover the Lost Art of Being Human.

As I read each book, it’s like my heart and body let out a big breath. I want to experience the richness of life that awaits me when I stop completely and focus on what is right in front of me.

Of course, since I have an online business, I can’t just throw away my phone and my computer — and I have no desire to! But I have a deep desire to spend some time completely unplugged every day.

For me, disconnecting would mean turning off my phone and computer and setting aside chunks of the day. I want to live offline and the only way to do that for me is to shut down and put away screens for parts of the day.

How I Plan to Live This Word

Choosing a name is one thing. But just choosing will not change anything. Instead, you need to design a plan that will help you live by your voice.

So, in addition to setting monthly goals for offline time, I created a plan to make them happen. In the last few months, I have done a good job I can’t get on my phone at one o’clock in the morning (I’m just trying not to look at it without turning off my alarm again).

Instead, I walk and watch the sun rise, read my Bible and a few pages of religious and other inspirational books, and prepare myself and the children for the day. I try not to look at my phone until all this happens. It has made a huge difference in my days when I start this morning!

But I’m still fighting my evening. And I know it’s because of being online. I get caught up in “doing just one more thing” at work or “just a few minutes of scrolling”… and we all know how that usually goes. Which means that I don’t sleep well at night and I have trouble falling asleep early.

So the challenge with choosing this word will mean that I need more training and be proactive in developing good habits and setting good limits for my phone and computer in the evening.

I talked to my business coach, Alli Worthington, last week about how I was feeling in the evenings and how I struggle to shut things down and go to bed early. He gently pushed me to think about whether I really needed to be online this evening at all.

My Unplugged Evening Plan

After arguing, I finally realized that he was right. So I am putting this here publicly that my Word of the Year is unrelated and that this is the way I want to live because my hope is that it will encourage me to be I actually followed my goal of getting out at least two hours before bed.

My plan is to have a strict policy of not turning on my phone or computer after 8 pm I will turn it off and put it in another room. Then, instead of scrolling or finishing work in the evening, I’ll spend time with Jesse and/or the older kids and shower and read and go to bed by 9:45 pm to 10 pm.

I know this will make a huge positive difference in my days and my life – but it will be a huge challenge to keep this up. That’s why this word scares me and that’s why I’m putting this out there. Because I need all the accountability I can get!

Do you have a Word of the Year for 2025? If so, let us know what it is in the comments!